Spain revises 2015 deficit down slightly

Spain's acting Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro on Thursday revised the country's 2015 public deficit down slightly to take into account new technical criteria.

The deficit now stands at 5.0 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), a little lower than the 5.16 percent it posted last week.

This makes 2015 the eighth consecutive year Spain has overshot its fiscal target.

"We will modify the closure of the accounts due to a change regarding the calculation of the budgetary consequences of the use of radio frequency space," Montoro told a parliamentary commission.

The change means Spain's public deficit was 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) smaller than was previously thought, he added.

Even with the revision the deficit is still far higher than the target of 4.2 percent of GDP set by Spain's conservative government last year.

Montoro was appearing before a parliamentary commission to explain why the government missed its target, with left-wing lawmakers accusing it of having lied about Spain's fiscal position ahead of a December 20 general election.

The government brought forward a income tax reduction plan and partially reinstated an annual Christmas bonus paid to public workers before the election, arguing Spain's improved circumstances made it possible.